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An Analysis of the Alienation Phenomena in >As I Lay Dying< [《我弥留之际》异化现象解读], Master thesis, English Language and Literature, Liaoning University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China 2018 [application of Fromm's theories to art].

  • 威廉•福克纳是美国文学史上最具影响力的作家之一,享誉世界的美国现代小说家。福克纳擅长用运用意识流、多视角、时序交错等艺术手法,并且大量运用宗教典故、象征隐喻、神话模式使文本具有丰富的象征内涵,加上晦涩的语言、冗长的句子和纷乱复杂,扑朔迷离的文体,来表现世界万物和人心的复杂性,反映出道德法则的消亡、传统价值体系的破产。并通过突出描写现代社会中人的异化感和孤独感来深化和加强作品的主题性。福克纳擅长通过文学作品反映现代社会的种种弊病,《我弥留之际》讲述本德伦一家艰难又荒诞的送葬过程,将充斥着背叛、通奸、兄弟反目的>荒原<社会里现代人的异化状态和生存困境揭露得淋漓尽致,曾一度被作家本人视为最好的作品。国内外学者对《我弥留之际》进行大量广泛的研究。然而贯穿在人类社会历史的整个进程中的异化现象在《我弥留之际》研究方面却相对较少。所以本文作者认为在这方面深入挖掘,研究是非常有意义的。本文从弗洛姆异化理论的全新视角出发,揭示福克纳笔下的普通贫穷白人家庭,影射出整个社会的异化。人与上帝的异化、人与自然地异化、人与社会的异化、人与人的异化,将资本主义咆哮发展下人们的冷漠、隔阂、自私自利、缺失信仰的丑恶病态大胆地揭露出来。而福克纳的最终目的则是秉承他一贯的人道主义和乐观主义精神,坚信人是不朽的,他们的种族会延续下去。本篇论文共由三部分构成:导论、正文和结论。导论部分概括作者的生平及其作品,介绍作品国内外研究现状,提出本文的研究观点并简要阐述本文研究的理论意义和现实意义。正文由四章组成。第一章是对埃里希•弗洛姆异化理论概述,介绍异化理论的来源和发展以及弗洛姆人道主义异化理论:弗洛姆分别从政治、经济、哲学、心理学、人类学等层面审视了对自然、世界、社会、上帝以及对人自身的认识,揭示了在现代资本主义发展过程中,人与社会、人与人、人与自我之间的关系如何在各种矛盾的作用下发生的扭曲和严重的异化。《我弥留之际》呈现出的疏离和异化与弗洛姆的理论相契合,本文以弗洛姆异化理论为支撑深入分析文本,更加客观地研究异化现象在《我弥留之际》的深远影响以及作者传达对于处于经济社会转型的特殊历史时期下的现代人特殊的人文关怀。第二章主要阐述了《我弥留之际》异化现象产生的社会原因,分别从第一次世界大战对人们造成的强烈冲击、现代社会及现代主义的飞速畸形发展下的产物以及传统南方的逐渐没落和传统道德的分崩三方面分析《我弥留之际》这部作品中所体现的异化现象产生的原因。本德伦一家人的精神状态反映了该时期南方人的传统崩溃、道德沦丧,个体欲望日益膨胀的状态,人类本已动荡的思想信仰和价值观念受到强烈冲击。人类普遍存在的精神危机在微妙、复杂的意识中闪现,突显了作品的主题—现代人的生存困境和心灵异化。来自内心、信仰以及社会等方面的异化窒息着现代人,承受着的重负的人类为生存而付出了昂贵的代价。第三章结合弗洛姆的人道主义异化理论来分析本德伦一家在送葬之旅中体现的人与外界的异化,即人与上帝的异化、人与自然的异化、人与社会的异化,从而揭示出的这种人与外界异化不是个体现象,而是整个社会的缩影,具有强烈的社会意义。《我弥留之际》中主人公信仰的缺失,与上帝的疏离,在没有精神的支撑情况下呈现出现代人迷茫的状态;人们对自然的无视和毁灭受到了大自然无情惩罚:洪水和大火成为送葬旅途中的主要障碍,也体现出人与自然和谐相处的重要性;传统价值观念解体后,现代社会呈现出一片精神荒原,现代人痛苦地与命运抗争。第四章结合弗洛姆异化理论来分析《我弥留之际》本德伦一家的送葬之旅中体现的人与人之间的异化。分别从夫妻之间的异化、父母与孩子之间的异化、兄弟姐妹之间的异化、人本身的异化四方面出发,揭示出现代社会这种疏远、冷漠、甚至迫害;充斥着背叛、兄弟反目的>荒原<社会的现代人如何挣扎着存活。作家毫无保留地将异化社会中异化的人们的冷漠、愚蠢、自私、荒诞、无知的丑恶的病态写到极致,甚至加以夸大来反映社会现状,引领读者思考在没有尊重和交流的夫妻关系里,在没有理解和关爱的父母与子女关系里,在没有包容和互助的兄弟姐妹关系里,在迷茫和崩溃的个体生活里,现代人如何挣扎着生存。结论部分综述全文,总结本篇论文研究成果,研究局限并提出相应的建议。指出弗洛姆的异化理论为《我弥留之际》异化现象研究提供了另一种可能,突出福克纳通过《我弥留之际》来阐释的异化主题思想及其巨大的警示和启迪作用。异化现象一直备受关注并且贯穿人类社会发展的始终,异化现象不是20世纪某一个体、家庭、地区或国家特有的社会问题,即使在21世纪的今天,人与自然关系的异化、人与社会关系的异化、人性的异化依然不同程度地存在着。而如福克纳预言的人类永续发展一样,现代人应确立信仰,正视异化,从容面对困难,用爱和包容武装自己,实现与异化的异化。
  • William Faulkner is a well-known modern novelist, one of the most influential writers in American literature. Because of his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel, Faulkner won Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949. He is skilled at using stream of consciousness, multiple perspectives, symbolism, metaphors and religious allusion together with obscure languages, long sentences, and intricate styles to express the bankrupt of morality system and the complicity of the whole world, especially alienation and loneliness to give prominence to the theme. Faulkner always used works to reflect drawbacks in modern society and >As I Lay Dying< was once praised by Faulkner as his best novel. The work shows the Bundrens experience a burdensome and absurd funeral journey in which betray, adultery and internal conflicts are commonly seen and in their wasteland world, the alienating condition and hard existing situation are disclosed completely. Scholars from home and abroad have been studying the work for a long time with abundant contents. However, As I Lay Dying is received comparatively less attention in its alienation phenomena. So the author thinks it can be meaningful to study As I Lay Dying from this angle. This paper is based on Fromm’s alienation theory to expose the common poor white family’s situation so as to insinuate the universal alienation in modern society: that is alienation between man and God, man and nature, man and society and man and himself. Under the roaring development of capitalism, the evil and morbid side of people is simulated with indifference, estrangement, savage, folly, selfishness and disbelief prevailed. While Faulkner’s ultimate goal is to follow the humanitarian and optimistic spirit and have faith in human and he firmly believes that man not only can endure and he will prevail. The thesis consists of three parts. They are the introduction, the main body and the conclusion. The first part is introduction in which the writer’ life, his works and literature reviews are presented. The author of the thesis puts forward research perspective and points out the theoretical and practical meaning. The main body is divided into four chapters. Chapter One is the overview of Erich Fromm’s humanistic alienation theory. The source and development of alienation theory and Erich Fromm’s humanistic alienation theory are covered in this chapter. Fromm studied nature, world, society, God and human beings from various perspectives, namely politics, economy, philosophy, psychology and anthropology to reveal the distortion and alienation between man and society, man and man and man himself under the influence of all kinds of contradictions along the process of capitalist society’s deformed development. Estrangement and alienation in As I Lay Dying interact with Fromm’s theory, so with the combination of discourses and theory, the thesis can better present alienation phenomena in As I Lay Dying and express writer’s humanistic care for modern people under the special social and economic transformation period. Chapter Two is the analysis of three social causes for alienation phenomena, namely the shocking impact of World War I and the outcome of the Lost Generation; the rapid and deformed development of modern society and the decline of the traditional South and the collapse of traditional morality. The Bundrens’ mental condition mirrors tradition’s collapse, the loss of morality and values, the expanded self interests and desires and shaking beliefs at that time. The profound and subtle spiritual crisis occurs in people’s consciousness, highlighting the theme – modern man’s survival predicament and spiritual alienation. Alienation from mind, belief and society suffocates modern people, together with the burden and price people have to take and pay for. Chapter Three is an analysis of alienation between man and the outside world during the funeral journey based on Fromm’s theory. Through the analysis of alienation between man and God, man and nature and man and society to show isolation between man and outside is not uncommon, but a miniature of whole society. Heroes in As I Lay Dying are representatives of modern people who lose belief, alienate from God and become perplexed without spiritual support; they are punished by nature severely for their ignorance and destruction to nature with flood and fire hindered on their pilgrimage and the importance to live in harmony with nature; they live in wasteland for the broken of traditional ideology, struggling to fight against fate. Chapter Four is the analysis of alienation between man and man along the funeral pilgrim with the alienation theory of Fromm. Alienation between husband and wife, parents and children, sisters and brothers and man and himself are presented to illustrate such estrangement, indifference even persecution and how modern men struggle to live in this wasteland with betrayal and internecine conflicts. By completely or even exaggeratedly showing people’s indifference, stupidity, absurdity and pathosis, Faulkner intends to lead people to think how they survive in the situation with no respect and love in marriage, with no understanding and care in parents-children relations, with no help and forgive in siblings and in self-collapse. The last conclusion part is the summary of the research result and limitations of the thesis and then proposes suggestions accordingly; offers a new perspective to study alienation in As I Lay Dying based on Fromm’s theory; shows its warning and enlightening effect. Alienation accompanies human development all along and it’s not a specialty in 20th century’s individual, family, region or country, because even in 21th century, there are still alienating problems between man and nature, man and society and man within himself. Faulkner encourages people to establish beliefs, face up to alienation, accept challenges and arm with love and forgiveness and enlighten others to alienate from alienation and achieve man’s sustainability. [Author’s translation]

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Metadaten
Author:Qingling Wang
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2018
Release Date:2020/11/03
Format:no copy existent / keine Kopie vorhanden
IdNo:Wang_Qingling_2018
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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